Saturday, May 29, 2010

Goodbye USA, see you again soon.




We are about to leave for the gate to board our plane back to Manchester.

The end of an incredible holiday and an incredible month in the United States of America.

Aloha & Mahalo to all of our followers.

See you all real soon now!

Trevor & Marion.

Trevor's decided to stay in the USA !!

Yes, Trevor has decided to stay in the USA. Play this video to find out why!

Photos of Philly

These 2 are for our friend Sue, who's touring the US in an RV with her hubbie Mike, & who has a passion for water towers!!

Some typical US city views.....the one above, think 'Blues Brothers'!



Fire escapes like you see in the movies!


This tiny wee cafe sells the most delicious tarts and was called 'Tarts'!...we had a Key Lime pie.....Yum!


Some of the older & very beautiful buildings in Philadelphia



Elfreth's Alley







Betsy Ross's House....she was the one who designed the first US flag






Ever wondered why the Liberty Bell doesn't ring anymore???


Painting in the railway station


Where are we??


We certainly made the most of our day here & wandered around the historic district.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Philadelphia

Well the holiday isn't over yet!

We are now in Philadelphia, staying 2 nights at the Airport Hilton, courtesy of US Air!

This is a deja vu situation, as we volunteered a couple of years ago, to come off a flight from Philly to Manchester, as they were overbooked, & we received meal & hotel vouchers, 1st class flights home the next day, plus free tickets on any US Air flights....which incidentally was what helped us to get to Hawaii!

This time Trev spotted a US Air customer services desk when we arrived at Phoenix airport & went to inquire about us putting our names down to volunteer to come off the Manchester flight again, if necessary.
The lady was very grateful as the flight was actually overbooked, but we wouldn't know if we were chosen till we got to Philly.

However our flight from Phoenix was delayed by an hour & we only had 20 minutes to get to the gate, by which time the flight was closed.....but here's the good bit.....because we'd previously volunteered to come off, we got all the perks again & this time $550 each towards another flight!

The other people who failed to get on, were only offered the hotel & meal vouchers & flights home economy, the next day with American Airlines out of La Guardia, which meant another flight over there in the morning, then hanging around all afternoon till the evening flight.

We asked if we could wait for the next direct flight from Philly to Manchester, which is tomorrow (Sat) & we've got 1st class seats.....Yippee!!
This has also meant 2 nights in the Hilton paid for by US Air + vouchers, & a very pleasant day to tour Philadelphia, then use of the Envoy lounge at the airport tomorrow.......I know.....jammy buggers!!

So a tip for anyone who's not under any pressure to get home.......Volunteer to get bumped off.....it could be well worth it....but do it in advance, as this time we would have been too late if we'd left till we got to Philadelphia.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Our last Funky Hotel in Phoenix - The Clarendon









Our last day on the beautiful island of Kauai.....Boo Hoo

Three frogs hugging!!



Oops! Look what happened when I gave Trevor a kiss!!

Let's play 'spot the frog'

Just a small cactus plant !!



Our last supper!

Snorkelling at Tunnels Beach - an Adonis rising out of the sea!!

Anini Beach


Taro Fields

Beautiful Tunnels Beach

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Beaches & our Helicopter ride around Kauai




Coco Palms was the setting for the wedding scene in Elvis's 'Blue Hawaii' & a lot of the film was filmed here, but sadly this historic & fascinating hotel was destroyed by a hurricane in the 1990's, then suffered fire damage a few years ago. This is also one of the biggest coconut plantations on Hawaii & it's so sad that this resort has been left to rot away.


Our Jellicopter !!

The Napali Coastline


Spot the two boats entering and exiting the cave with the giant blow hole behind it !




The North Shore


Back on Terra Firma again!!

Hanalei Bay

Ha'ena Beach looking towards Tunnels Beach

Ke'e Beach, one of our favourites.

Salt Ponds Beach in the South of Kauai, another favourite.


Photos just don't do justice to the beautiful Kauai beaches but here's a taster.
Our helicopter ride around Kauai was awesome & we saw sites we would never have seen otherwise, particuarly the Na'apli coastline on the North West shore which has no roads and is very difficult to access on foot.